s5e11: Things That Have Caught My Attention

In a recent edition of his excellent stream-of-consciousness newsletter, Dan Hon considers Alexa Kids Edition in which, among other things, Alexa encourages kids to say “please.” There are challenges and pitfalls, Dan writes, in designing a one-size-fits-all system that talks to children and, especially, teaches them new behaviors.

Parenting is a very personal subject. As I have become
a parent, I have discovered (and validated through
experimental data) that parents have very specific
views about how to do things! Many parents do not agree
with each other! Parents who agree with each other
on some things do not agree on other things! In families
where there are two parents there is much scope for
disagreement on both desired outcome and method!

All of which is to say is that the current design,
architecture and strategy of Alexa for Kids indicates
one sort of one-size-fits-all method and that there’s
not much room for parental customization. This isn’t
to say that Amazon are actively preventing it and might
not add it down the line - it’s just that it doesn’t
really exist right now. Honan’s got a great point that:

"[For
example,] take the magic word we mentioned earlier.
There is no universal norm when it comes to what’s
polite or rude. Manners vary by family, culture, and
even region. While “yes, sir” may be de rigueur in
Alabama, for example, it might be viewed as an element
of the patriarchy in parts of California."